When did Michael Crichton
become a medievalist? Well, the 14th and 20th centuries bear outstanding
resemblances for historian Barbara Tuchman. In her famous book A
Distant Mirror, she points to parallel plagues and nearly endless
wars. Similarly, for the time-traveler who brought us Jurassic Park,
the more we look to the future, the more we encounter the past. The Middle
Ages may appear distant -- but not when a writer hits his sixties.

Here, just as in Big Fish and The Barbarian Invasions,
a son (Paul Walker) cannot relish manhood without reckoning with Dad (Billy
Connolly) and death. Baby boomers tip not only on the brink of retirement
but also in the thick of movies that require boys to consider Freudian
analysis -- before Dad kicks off and curses the kid forever!

Crichton lasers in
on an archeologist and his reluctant heir. Complicating the story, the
father himself declares: "Trust me. If it's between archeology and you,
you'll lose [Frances O'Conner]." Furthermore, the father notices: While
the son maintains his independence, the girl resembles nobody more than
her future paternal in-law. A son whose father knows his girlfriend better
than he does can only win in a two-for-one sale.

Other plot kinks here
will be familiar: the time-traveler who decides that, no matter what Thomas
Wolfe says, you can go home again. The desperation of searchers
for a lost partner on a deadline also rings more than one bell. If we
examine this plot closely, in fact, it does not return us to the Middle
Ages, after all. It zooms us to Han Solo and the Ark of the Covenant (surrounded
by Nazis).

The father of this
film may be the entire genre that always spawns men who behave
like beasts. Track this science fiction bonanza to mummies, tombs and
scientists, if you wish. The lab crowd always emerges sillier than
everybody else. What creator handles this material better than Crichton?
Add a sarcophagus seeking a live copy -- who thought of that before? Throw
in an evil genius (David Thewlis) who lies to everybody -- and still cannot
escape discovery. Just don't throw away your chance to see a master of
science fiction -- from dinosaurs to romance -- do it again!

Here, originality
lies in perceiving that every history buff can enjoy his own time machine.
It begins with a book. It blasts off the screen. Don't climb in there
and expect to come out the same. This time, you travel through worm-holes.
Remember, capes not only fly through the air, they sweep up dirt, too.
Those swanky triangular sleeves pick up every tidbit of grime in the dungeon.
And nobody ever heard of drycleaners. Knot your best triathlon shoes!
(Reeboks do not pass French muster.) Are you ready? Oh, and one
more thing: Be sure to pack an extra ear. 9-1-1 doesn't exist yet. Sorry.